1. ``
pg. 1
‫פרשת‬‫בלק‬
This adaptation is dedicated in honor
of my dear wife, Devorah,
and our dear daughter, Tova Zoe.
"‫ישראל‬ ‫עשה‬ ‫אשר‬ ‫כל‬ ‫את‬ ‫צפור‬ ‫בן‬ ‫בלק‬ ‫וירא‬
‫לאמרי‬")‫כב‬,‫ב‬(
“Balak son of Zippor saw all that Israel
had done to the Amorites”
The primary power of free-will derives from the
fact that Hashem hides and conceals His will in
astounding ways. He only gave man the strength
and the wisdom to recognize, through his own
intellect, that he must spend all of his days and
seek out Hashem’s will, nullifying his own
desires before Hashem’s will. The
quintessential power of free-will is
demonstrated in this week’s parsha in Balaam’s
journey to curse the Jewish people and how
Hashem interacted with him. Balaam had an
overwhelming desire to curse the Jewish people,
but Hashem had mercy on them and explicitly
told him not do so. Nevertheless, he did not
reverse his wickedness. When Hashem saw the
extent of his evil desire, Hashem told him: “arise
and go with them, but only the thing that I shall
speak to you – that shall you do.”1 2
'‫ד‬ ‫אל‬ ‫להתחבר‬
To Connect To Hashem
Hashem loves us so much. He takes the most evil
man and in place of the curses that he wished to
level at us, that were already on the tip of his
tongue – He places in his mouth wonderful
praises that glorify, elevate, highlight and
enhance all of the positive attributes of the
Jewish people. Such was it with the evil Balaam
and so it is in every generation – they rise up to
destroy us, but HKB”H saves us from their hands.
1
‫כ‬ ,‫כב‬
2
‫עד-עח‬ ,‫ה‬ ‫השחר‬ ‫ברכת‬ ‫ליקו"ה‬
We cannot fathom how much Hashem loves
all of His children. It is not because we have
earned it with our deeds – rather it is merely
because we are His children.
“My eldest, Israel.” For you, and only for you, I
created the world. To take you out to freedom, I
altered the laws of nature. I turn the world
upside down for you.
The boundless love that HKB”H has for us is
beyond human comprehension. “With an eternal
love have You loved us, Hashem, our G-d.”3 “You
have chosen us from all the peoples; You loved us
and found favor in us.”4 All of yiddishkeit is love.
That is the force of our bond with HKB”H – it is
the incredible melody that is played throughout
the world, a melody that reveals Hashem’s love
towards every Jewish soul. The word “love”
appears very often throughout “Shema Yisroel,”
our greatest expression of unification with
HKB”H – the second sentence being: “You shall
love Hashem, your G-d, with all of your heart,
with all of your soul and with all your resources.”
Avraham Avinu was the progenitor of the Jewish
people – he is the pillar of love. He originated the
Jewish nation by experiencing love for something
above and exalted. This love burned within him
and he was prepared to enter a fiery furnace by
3
(‫שחרית‬ ‫)תפילת‬ ‫אלקינו‬ '‫ד‬ ‫אהבתנו‬ ‫עולם‬ ‫אהבת‬
4
(‫יו"ט‬ ‫)תפילת‬ ‫בנו‬ ‫ורצית‬ ‫אותנו‬ ‫אהבת‬ ‫העמים‬ ‫מכל‬ ‫בחרתנו‬ ‫אתה‬

2. pg. 2 ‫פרשת‬‫בלק‬
influence of that love. The same is true for every
baal teshuva who suddenly reveals such light and
begins to chase after it, without knowing exactly
why, without really understanding, until he
abandons everything behind him and begins a
new life, an amazing life, a genuine life.
Love is the greatest power in the world. It is
the power against which nothing else can
withstand.
We are commanded to love Hashem
wholeheartedly, with our entire soul. That is our
mission, our purpose. It is not merely the goal of
exalted people. Shema Yisroel is a directive for
every child. We cannot act as we please and then
ask, “Where is it written that it is prohibited.”
True, it may not be clearly stated, but how does it
harmonize with the obligation to love Hashem?
If it does not connect us, if it separates us – it
cannot be allowed. Our primary task is to
constantly examine whether we are
connecting or separating, G-d forbid.
The pasuk: “One thing I asked of Hashem, that
shall I seek”5 can be read, by changing the
emphasis, as follows: “One thing I ask of Hashem
– Him I shall seek” – We want nothing except
for one thing, one request – to be with YOU –
we persistently look to You, lift our heads to
You, awaiting Your return of our gaze. When
we feel Your gaze, it is the most amazing
feeling that we know, we need nothing else.
Within the soul of every Jew there are unlimited
treasures. The Jewish soul burns for Hashem.
Every Jewish soul craves teshuva. That is why we
are here. We are not here to fill the refrigerator
and enjoy delicacies, although we also need
those materialistic things - but they are not our
purpose. We are here to recognize Hashem, to
learn to live with Hashem, to receive the vast
light of knowing that “there is nothing aside
from Hashem” (‫מלבדו‬ ‫עוד‬ ‫.)אין‬
A person may become enraged, ready for battle,
prepared to destroy, set to pounce on another’s
5
(‫כז‬ ‫)תהילים‬ ‫אבקש‬ ‫אותה‬ '‫ד‬ ‫מאת‬ ‫שאלתי‬ ‫אחת‬
mistakes – but as soon as he reminds himself
Who it is that really arranged things this way
– he calms down, he recovers his balance, he
connects to the light that is called “there is
nothing aside from Hashem” (‫מלבדו‬ ‫עוד‬ ‫.)אין‬
This world obscures Hashem’s light. We must
escape the concealments: the concealments of
depression, deprivation, failure, our sense that
things don’t go our way, that our life is so
difficult, that we have bad luck. We must
breakout of this mindset and attach to G-
dliness within the reality of the concealment,
to the light that is called “there is nothing
aside from Hashem” (‫מלבדו‬ ‫עוד‬ ‫.)אין‬ How do we
do this?
‫ידעתי‬ ‫"לא‬) "‫לקראתי‬ ‫נצב‬ ‫אתה‬ ‫כי‬‫לד‬ .‫כב‬(
“I did not know that you were standing
opposite me”
Hashem speaks to us in all manner of ways: we
open a sefer and find an answer to a question
that was bothering us; we walk past two people
engaged in conversation and we overhear a
sentence that precisely answers a question on
our mind, we are undecided between two
options and we develop and inexplicable feeling
of happiness towards one and uneasiness about
the other; we walk in the street and we observe
someone acting inappropriately … Hashem is
reminding us that we need to work on our
arrogance, our belief that we are in control, our
repeatedly forgetting Hashem. Balaam rode his
donkey and it veered from the road. He hit it and
it crushed his leg against the wall. He hit it again
and after the third time, the angel was revealed
to him. It did not occur to Balaam that there was
Divine intervention. We mock Balaam, but we
also often forget that there is One Who
orchestrates events from above, calls to us and
waits for us to pay attention to Him.
Our days are filled with Divine Providence.
HKB”H is hidden but He never ceases to signal to
us. We unexpectedly meet a friend who we have
not seen in a while, we suddenly become
confused and travel in the wrong direction and
there we experience a “coincidence.” We

3. pg. 3 ‫פרשת‬‫בלק‬
“coincidentally” hear something that was
irrelevant to us and was not directed at us that
leads us to new decisions in life. All sorts of
“accidents” and “coincidences” guide us to new
places and new resolutions. A guiding hand
orchestrates all of these “random incidents” to
direct us to our necessary corrections. We must
incessantly improve and perfect our ability to
contemplate reality and perceive the Hand of
Providence in every occurrence, the Hand of
HKB”H.
Hashem calls to us and He wants us to return to
Him. Hashem summons the entire world -
praiseworthy is the one who bends his head to
listen to this sound, not like Balak who was
stubborn, refusing to hear. He was so desperate
to harm the Jewish people – maybe if we build
altars, maybe if we offer sacrifices, maybe those
will help, maybe if we look at them from
someplace else, maybe from a higher vantage
point. But nothing worked – Hashem’s word is
what prevailed.
) "‫ישכן‬ ‫לבדד‬ ‫"עם‬‫כ‬‫ג‬.‫ט‬(
“A nation that will dwell in solitude”
Balak asked Balaam to curse and Balaam
answered that they are “a nation that will dwell
(‫)בדד‬ in solitude.” They perform hisbodedus.
“They are a holy nation that communes with
their Creator, pouring out conversation before
Him constantly and thinking each day about their
goals. They are thereby protected from all
enemies, for they hide themselves in the shadow
of Hashem’s wings always.6
“Do you want something that can truly help you?
Do you wish to feel connected to your loving
Father in Heaven, a natural connection, simple,
loving and calming? Perform hisbodedus. Find a
hidden corner: in the forest, in the house or even
in middle of the Beis Midrash when you slip your
tallis over your face and you are with your Father.
This may seem simplistic, but in reality, we are
talking about a corridor to halls that are beyond
6
‫פז‬ .‫ה‬ ‫השחר‬ ‫ברכת‬ ‫ליקו"ה‬
comprehension … we set aside the daily grind for
an hour, turn off the cellphone, sneak out to
someplace secluded, between treetops and
chirping bird, lift our eyes to Hashem and relate
to him what is in our hearts. Sometimes, even
silence – but, sitting before Him and tasting
the flavor of love and connection, between a
loving Father and a secluded son.
We need this and we deserve it – not only for
the serenity and the salvations – primarily for
our lives, for the sweetness and for our
connection with ourselves. Hisbodedus
transforms life into a life of sweetness and
quality, a life of true closeness to Hashem –
our souls need this.”7
The simplest and most natural thing is to speak
with Hashem, to tell Him everything that weighs
on our hearts, to seek counsel from Him. There
is nothing more calming than a direct bond with
our Father – so why is it so difficult? Because the
yetzer hora impedes – he knows that with it, we
can correct everything.
Moreinu Harav: Balaam also conversed with
Hashem. Yet, he remained Balaam. Some people
talk to Hashem and expect to see immediate
results – they anticipate that the shidduch or the
apartment will instantly appear. They say, “I did
an hour of hisbodedus – where is Hashem? Why
doesn’t Hashem answer me?” Such people do
not understand what real communicating with
Hashem is, they stand before Hashem and ask,
“Master of the World, grant me this, give me that
– when will You give it to me.” They bring along
a blank check and expect to see it filled as they
finish asking. We must nullify ourselves - and
self-nullification is only possible by speaking to
Hashem.
We constantly think of ourselves as the best at
various things, successful, smart … Therefore, we
must meditate in order to quiet the egotistical
thoughts – there are smarter people, there are
more successful people. Hisbodedus is thinking
about our past errors – did I hurt anyone, did I
7
‫תתבודדו‬ ?‫בודד‬ :‫השדה‬ ‫שיח‬

4. pg. 4 ‫פרשת‬‫בלק‬
insult someone, did I speak not nicely? Proper
hisbodedus develops the belief that every Jew
is superior to us, never speaking ill of another
Jew, loving all of them, wanting to help every
one of them.
“When a person begins to speak to Hashem, he
builds his emuna. It becomes obvious – Hashem
is standing here – speak to Him. Why do you
need to hold a siddur to speak to Hashem? Do
you need a siddur when you speak to your
mother? Speak to Hashem! The more we speak
to Hashem, the more we live with the reality that
Hashem is always with us. If we believe in
Hashem – why do we not speak to Him?”8
) "‫ביעקב‬ ‫און‬ ‫הביט‬ ‫"לא‬‫כ‬‫ג‬.‫כא‬(
“He perceived no iniquity in Yaakov”
If we wish to connect, if we wish to feel
8
‫בשלום‬ ‫ישראל‬ ‫עמו‬ ‫את‬ ‫המברך‬
Hashem’s Presence – we must begin to see
only the good in others. Even if there is evil –
ignore it. Do not look for the flaws and defects.
Be like Hashem: “The way of Hashem is to look at
the good that we do and even if He finds
something negative, He does not look at it, as it
states, ‘He perceived no iniquity in Yaakov.’ All
the more so, we mere humans are forbidden
from noticing the undesirable in others – we
must perceive only the good.”9 A pat on the back,
a heartfelt compliment, words of encouragement,
words that impart good feelings, - a person does
not need much more than that. When we work
for the benefit of someone else, we receive
power, we obtain joy in life. When souls are
connected – we immediately experience
Hashem’s Presence. When do souls come
together? When there is giving. The essence of
beauty: when a person is an established giver
and not only a taker.
9
‫יז‬ ‫ליקו"ת‬
‫תפילה‬
Master of the World! Help me every time that I get upset at someone, when I am hurt by someone – help me remember that
no one does anything to me – that it is all Your doing, Father. At the moment that I remind myself of this, I start to talk myself
down, I calm myself and tell myself, “what am I getting angry about, it is all Hashem’s doing.” But it is so difficult, Father. This
feeling can last for several seconds but revenge has such sweet flavor that it almost always wins out. Grant me strong emuna,
help me to not see people before my eyes – only You, Father - just as the tzaddikim are able to do.
Master of the World! Help me to want to understand what You want from me in every situation and to always want to do Your
will. So often, I am so uncertain as to whether I am doing well, I am so unsure as to whether you are satisfied with my deeds.
But, I do not have the strength to clarify, I am so comfortable with my current behavior that I cannot bear to think that it may
not be okay, that maybe I’m acting against Your will, G-d forbid. Help me, Father, to be a genuine person, to desire only the
truth, to be afraid of deviating from complete honesty, to be afraid of transgressing Your will. Make it that I love You so much
that I don’t dare do anything against Your will.
Master of the World! Help me be so careful not to offend anyone ever. Sometimes, I get angry, impatient, unhappy with
myself – and I take it out on others and I feel so sorry afterwards - it pains me that I slighted someone, especially if it is
someone close and precious to me. At a minimum, move me to do teshuva quickly and ask my victim for pardon and
forgiveness – but, ideally, I request that You, Father, help me that it not happen at all. Help me to remember, at the outset, the
great pain that I feel afterwards. Help me to be so careful with the honor of others – not to do anything that hurts or insults -
even if I have no patience at that particular moment for anyone and I just want to be left alone in peace and quiet. Help me
remember that they are all Your children and I am obligated to protect their honor.
Have an awesome, uplifting and wonderful Shabbos,
Dov Elias
Notice: The foregoing is based on my limited understanding of the Parsha Sheet, Ohr Ha’Emuna, disseminated by Harav Menachem Azolai Shlita and is not a
complete or exact adaptation of Ohr Ha’Emuna and is not necessarily even a reliable interpretation of the ideas presented therein. Ohr Ha’Emuna is published
in Hebrew; in translation, accuracy is always compromised. Rav Azolai has not reviewed this material - any inaccuracies, omissions or confusion should be
attributed exclusively to me. I still hope you enjoy and it provides some chizuk. Thank you Mordi Blass for your help with some of the Hebrew expressions.
©Dov Elias 5774. ‫ת‬ '‫ז‬‫מוז‬‫תשע"ד‬ – July 5, 2014
For previous issues and/or to receive this adaptation by weekly email, visit www.tloe.us or email me at LightofEmuna@dovelias.com